Broadcaster Begay returning to work after heart attack

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – Notah Begay will return to his broadcasting job next week, one month after suffering a heart attack.

Golf Channel said Wednesday that he will serve as an on-course reporter at the NCAA men’s golf championships, with the network’s coverage starting Monday.

The 41-year-old Begay suffered the heart attack April 24. Doctors at Methodist Hospital in Dallas diagnosed a 100 percent blockage of his right coronary artery. A stent was inserted to unblock the artery.

“About 60 days ago, I felt perfectly fine walking the fairways doing our other broadcasts,” he said on a conference call Wednesday, “and just out of left field had some heart complications and was very lucky to get quick medical attention and get fixed up.”

Begay is in his second full year as a TV analyst. He won twice on the PGA Tour, in 1999 and 2000.

“So long as I’ve got a golf cart there to get me from one point to the next, I’ll be OK,” he said.

A Navajo from New Mexico, Begay has a history of heart disease in his family. He hopes to expand his NB3 Foundation’s mission to address health and wellness issues among Native American youth.